How Is Wave Forecasting Done And How Does It Impact The Paris Olympics Surfing Competition?

By VICTORIA MILKO, Associated Press TEAHUPO’O, Tahiti (AP) — The search for the perfect wave has been a part of surfing culture for decades, with surfers traveling from location to location in their quest for the best swells. But with the development of surf forecasting— the prediction of wave swell behavior and breaking— that search has gotten much easier. This year, it also determines the four days that surfers competing in the Paris Olympics in Tahiti, French Polynesia, will paddle into the ocean in their pursuit for the gold medal. Here’s a look at how surf forecasting is done, how it impacts the Paris Olympics surfing competition and how experts expect climate change to affect future wave forecasting. What is surf forecasting and how is it done? Surf forecasting is often considered a branch of meteorology and oceanography as it uses the same tools and methods adopted in weather forecasting and the study of the ocean. Forecasters monitor wind and storms that blow over the ocean — sometimes thousands of miles out at sea — transferring their energy in the water and creating most waves.